Herbert Smith Freehills advises Tideway on £250 million green US private placement

Herbert Smith Freehills has advised Bazalgette Tunnel Limited (known as "Tideway") on its £250 million private placement of green senior secured fixed rate notes (the "Notes") in three series maturing in 2033, 2035 and 2038. The Notes are guaranteed by Bazalgette Holdings Limited. Tideway is the company delivering Thames Tideway Tunnel, the 25km sewage tunnel under the River Thames that is being built to increase London's sewage network capacity.

Issued under the company's sustainable finance framework, this financing represents a part of Tideway's larger debt platform and is its third US Private placement (USPP) issuance. The USPP was funded on 11 October 2023 and will be used to finance the construction of the Thames Tideway Tunnel, which falls into the Green Bond Principles use of proceeds for "pollution prevention and control" and "sustainable water and wastewater management" as published by the ICMA in 2021. Holders of the Notes will benefit from security over all of the assets of the Holdco Group, subject to usual regulatory restrictions.

The Herbert Smith Freehills team was led by finance partner Gabrielle Wong, supported by senior associate Chelsea Fish, with UK finance support provided by partners Jake Jackaman and Amy Geddes, associate Matthew Oliver and UK tax support provided by partner Howard Murray and senior associate Perminder Gainda.  

Herbert Smith Freehills has worked closely with Tideway on its financing strategy in the past few years, including its previous USPP transactions in 2017 and 2019 and English law deferred-funding bond issuances, in each case also issued under Tideway's debt platform.

Gabrielle Wong commented: "We are pleased to have once again supported our long-standing client, Tideway, on its latest issuance of green notes. This USPP transaction demonstrates Tideway's commitment to sustainable and responsible financing."

Celia Carlisle, General Counsel at Tideway, commented: “It’s always a pleasure working with the Herbert Smith Freehills team who once again made sure we were fully supported throughout the whole process. I believe it’s another successful transaction for everyone involved.”